Rebels on deadly rampage
2008-08-18 14:02
Manila - Philippine troops on Monday retook several southern towns where Muslim rebels burned houses and shot or hacked to death at least 24 people earlier in the day in what the guerrillas said was an outburst of frustration with an uncertain peace process.
The retreating Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels took dozens of civilians hostage in Kolambugan town as a human shield, said Brig Gen Antonio Supnet, head of an army brigade that drove away the rebels.
After retaking the towns, troops found 20 civilians were killed in Kauswagan and four others in neighbouring Kolambugan.
Supnet said more than 20 houses were burned in Kauswagan alone and hundreds of displaced villagers were streaming into evacuation centres in nearby Iligan city.
William Sechico, 14, from Kolambugan, said he and his five siblings and parents were asleep when their house came under fire.
"My father died," he said. "We hid in the bushes at the back of our house until 01:00 today."
Military chief Gen Alexander Yano said government troops launched an offensive in response to Monday morning's attack by about 300 guerrillas on the coastal towns in Lanao del Norte province.
TV footage showed mayhem in one smouldering village as residents ran for cover, jumping over the fences of their roadside houses. Burned-out vehicles littered the street. A photographer said up to 100 people escaped in dozens of boats to Iligan because the main highway was blocked.
'Sneaky and treacherous'
Michael Enat, manager of Cosmopolitan funeral homes in Iligan, said an army truck brought the bodies of nine civilians from Kauswagan who had been shot and hacked to death.
The escalation of fighting on Mindanao island came amid uncertainty over a fragile peace process after the Supreme Court blocked a preliminary agreement with Muslim rebels calling for an expanded autonomous region.
A military offensive earlier this month that dislodged the rebels from several villages displaced about 80 000 residents in a nearby province, but it wasn't immediately clear how many people have fled the latest fighting.
Yano blamed a local rebel commander for declaring "a virtual war against the duly constituted authority". Rebel spokesperson Eid Kabalu confirmed the attack, but said it was carried out by a renegade commander, Abdullah Macapaar, also known as Bravo, and without the knowledge of the group's leadership.
Kabalu said the rebels were frustrated over the slow progress in talks.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo told the rebels in a televised statement to withdraw immediately or they will be crushed.
"This is not just a violation of the peace agreement, but also a challenge to the overall aspirations of the people for peace and progress in the whole island of Mindanao," she said, calling the attacks "sneaky and treacherous".
Yano said it appeared that several rebel sub-commanders were acting independently.
"These developments are clear manifestation of the insincerity about the peace process of a significant portion" of the rebel organisation, Yano said.
- AP